The Angels remember announcer Rory Markas with a tribute on the Big A's video board. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

In his first year with the Angels, Rory Markas made a call that will live on in franchise history – providing the radio play-by-play for the final out of the team's 2002 World Series victory.

Markas, 54, died Monday night at his home in Palmdale. The cause of death was unknown, although Markas did have serious health problems in November 2008 when a blood clot on his brain required surgery and left him hospitalized for some time.

Markas returned to broadcast USC basketball that winter and the Angels in 2009, his eighth season with the team, punctuating Angels' wins with his signature – "Just another Halo victory."

"I think he was born to be a broadcaster," said fellow Angels broadcaster Terry Smith, who was hired at the same time as Markas for the 2002 season. "He was totally consumed by that – whether it was doing play-by-play, as a television reporter.

"When we were first hired to work together back before the '02 season, being paired with a stranger, you never really know how it's going to work out. I've seen it go both ways over the years. But in our situation, we became very good friends. It doesn't always work that way, but in our case it did. ... He was a great person, a great partner and we became great friends."

Another Angels' broadcaster, Jose Mota, said the one thing that stood out about Markas was how much he loved his job.

"Rory will be missed. He always had a great sense of humor and he loved calling Angels games," Mota said. "As broadcasters, we are intertwined in so many ways – working with Tim (Mead, Angels' vice president for communications), making our rounds together through the different cities, ballparks and hotels.

"You have teammates in the clubhouse as players. As broadcasters, you're all teammates, too. This truly hits hard."

A San Fernando Valley native, Markas had an extensive broadcasting background before joining the Angels, including play-by-play for the USC basketball team and pre-game reporting for USC football broadcasts. He also worked as a sports reporter for KNX/1070 AM in Los Angeles and as a sports anchor on FOX Channel 11. From 1994-97, he was the lead announcer for the Clippers on their radio network and on TV and radio at times for the Milwaukee Brewers and minor-league baseball teams in Salt Lake City and Vancouver.

Mead said he spoke with Markas on Monday afternoon and there were no signs that Markas was having any health issues. Markas was scheduled to travel to northern California on Tuesday in order to broadcast the USC men's basketball game against Stanford on Wednesday.

"Rory is the type of man you hope to have as a friend," Mead said. "He loved this organization. He loved what he did. Some of our people in the organization who aren't 12-month employees look forward to the off-season. Rory looked forward to his work with Fox and USC basketball.

"He loved to work and he loved to do a lot of things that very few people know about. He was very active in community efforts, loved working with kids."

Angels manager Mike Scioscia remembered Markas' "special gift for connecting with people" both on the air and off that made him "part of the fabric of this (Angels) organization" and the larger baseball community.

"It was not only his talent as a broadcaster but his character as a person. I think that's what all of us were drawn to and we're going to miss that," Scioscia said. "He became a fixture in our organization from what he did on and off the field. He emceed our event for amateur baseball up here every year. We didn't even have to ask. He wanted to be part of it."

USC athletic director Mike Garrett called Markas "a consummate professional and a well-loved individual" who will be difficult to replace.

"I've only been at USC a short time, but it didn't take me long to realize that Rory was a top-notch announcer and great guy," USC men's basketball coach Kevin O'Neill said in a statement. "It's so sad. He had so many games still in him. Our prayers go to his family and friends in this difficult time."

Steve Physioc will handle play-by-play for Wednesday's USC basketball broadcast at Stanford. Football announcer Pete Arbogast will take over for the rest of the season beginning Saturday at Cal. USC will determine a permanent replacement before next basketball season.

Mead said it is "too soon" to think about how the Angels will replace Markas on their broadcast team for 2010.

"We'll get together on that at some point," Mead said, referring to the Angels and Fox Sports, which carries most of the team's games. "We'll let the moment play out first. Our focus right now is on doing whatever we can for the family in this difficult time. The business aspect is secondary at this moment."

Earlier this off-season, the Angels and Fox announced that they were going to "streamline" their broadcast team for the 2010 season. Physioc and analyst Rex Hudler did not have their contracts renewed. Markas was scheduled to handle the TV play-by-play with analyst Mark Gubicza. Smith and Mota are scheduled to be the radio broadcast team.

"That first flight we take for our first road trip when I get on the plane and he's not in the seat behind me where he usually sits – that's going to be extremely emotional for me," Smith said. "I can't even believe I'm talking about this. It just seems very surreal even talking about it."

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